The Helen Bamber Foundation has released a new online campaign in order to raise awareness of its work supporting survivors of human trafficking.

The short film, entitled ‘Shoebox’, tells the story of Maria, and is based on the types of trafficking the charity deals with every year. In the film Maria goes through a shoebox of memories, recalling how she was duped into thinking she was coming to the UK to work as a nanny, but instead was brutalised, deprived of her freedom and made to work as a prostitute. The film ends showing how the foundation supports survivors of such cruelty with medical and emotional support.

‘Shoebox’ was created by Rory Hall and Steph Ellis, directed by Gareth Warland and Noelle Rodrigues of directing duo allmyfriends.

The Helen Bamber Foundation’s Hilary Thomas commented: “We were keen for the film to convey both the brutality of trafficking but also the strength and courage that we see in our clients every day. We are very grateful to the team who worked on this film for giving us the opportunity to raise awareness of the reality of trafficking in this way.”

Cut+Run’s Sam Ostrove, who edited the film, added: “The challenge of this ad was giving space to Maria’s story, and conveying the horror and brutality while also capturing the hope in the end. It was a real privilege to work with Gareth and Noelle on this, and we hope it generates lots of awareness for the Foundation.”